If you are like me then you had a BIG baby shower with lots of generous ladies. Now you have a ton of baby clothes waiting to find a home. Time to make that happen.

Overall I love this baby closet. There were no studs in the wall so we essentially built a ladder system on either side and have shelves on the steps in between. This is great because as he grows we can take of the shelf in the middle for more hanging space for clothes. I don’t have a dresser for him yet, we do plan on investing in one after he is too big for his changing table. I would really suggest skipping the changing table and going for a dresser with a pad on top and build supports around the pad that you can remove over time.

TOP SPACE STORAGE

We use the top of the closet for storage, all of his newborn clothes were placed up there and when we box up enough clothes we will put them into storage for the next baby, only keeping the items that still look great or are gender neutral.

I also kept diapers from the baby shower on the top shelf when it wasn’t being used for this purpose now so I have an extra box up there for my friends who are pregnant (I will give it as a gift too).

HANGING BABY THINGS

The next shelf is my favorite, we purchased baby hangers from amazon. Forewarning here – the loops on the hangers are actually smaller than the adult standard so I cut down a thick dowel I had next to my saw and we will use it till he gets big boy hangers.

BINS AND LABELS

I custom sized the shelves for the bins I already had in another part of the house that weren’t being utilized to the best of their function. They are all from target and made of the same material. The shorter bins have 4 square separators which is great for tiny baby clothes. These make folding and stacking much simpler. The larger bins are great for things like blankets and towels.

LABELS

I also purchased some Martha Stewart Metal Bookplate labels from Staples. THESE ARE THE BEST LABELS. They have adhesive backs and look sexy on just about any storage bin. Yes. Sexy – because I find organizing supplies attractive. These labels were discontinued and I teared up, but as I surfed a blog months later someone mentioned they were back (clearly a BIG deal) and I booked it to staples to snatch up 3 packages. I check frequently for more at various staples but they are usually sold out all the time. But don’t buy them anywhere else unless they are priced at 3 qty for 3.99. People resale them for crazy prices.

To design the labels I measured the stock paper that come with the plates and created a square the same size in my design program. I then downloaded a favorite font from Dafont.com called Tall & Slim Font.

LITTLE THINGS

This bin is used for socks (folded in half or in thirds and vertically stacked), bibs (folded down to squares then in half), and hats/caps. We used mittens for a time but they’re pretty much a waste because babies are IN LOVE with their hands and they fall off. I HIGHLY recommend skipping mittens and going straight for onesies with mittens. They’re long sleeve but are so fantastic.

These are onesies mostly but can also include the random t-shirt or tank top.
I love being able to easily find the outfit of the day and grab it without having to dig around and mess with all the other folded items. They stand on their own easily and make it a simple process when putting away more onesies.

BOTTOMS

Pants on the left, shorts on the right. I love the shorts 🙂 the are still practically as long as pants hehe.

SLEEP / COATS

He doesn’t have too many coats, so we put those in with his sleepers. The long johns with feet are SO CUTE and please to save your sanity try to get as few with buttons and as many with zippers as possible. I cannot tell you how much of a pain it is to button up a squirmy hungry baby. It’s like trying to pin down an angry rabbit.

BIG BINS

Blankets and swaddles

Bath Towels, Wraps and hand towels.

BOTTOM SPACE

On the bottom (floor) I keep boxes of diapers (clearly need to order one but we are transitioning to a level up soon). I also have a big bin with his unused hangers. I bought the bin for baby pictures and missed the holiday so now I can’t part with it and found a fun use.

These four – square shelves from IKEA are phenomenal. I mean they’re not the pretties but the function is great and you don’t have to get the bins only from them. Just so long as you find 13×13 bins or boxes you are great. (TARGET)

I have the clothes he has outgrown (labeled : TOO LITTLE) or is waiting to use (labeled : TOO BIG). Below that I have extra things for baby I have yet to use, like the angel pad for his crib (he sleeps in a pack-n-play next to us for now), a car organizer (I use his baby bag but when he is 2 or 3 I will put a book, toys and snacks if need be for trips) and some other random loose ends. Beside that is the bedding.

Lastly – the wall next to the closet is completely blank and it’s been driving me mad so I decided to hang my favorite shirts for him up there. Just as temporary decoration until I rearrange and install some photo ledges for kids books.

That’s it for now, I would love to hear what you have done in your baby room! Comment and let me know or include a link!

I am a big advocate of keeping like items in the same space and having only one space designated for those items. I don’t like having my cleaning supplies all over – pens and scissors in different rooms (i.e. junk drawer dwellers). I love having items in one place so I always know where to go (this is a big deal for staying organized – the less locations you have for one item the more likely it will always find it’s proper home) HOWEVER constantly going back and forth up and down the stairs with a baby all day just to change him is crazy pants. So an all time mommy favorite was called upon.

The Diaper Caddy.

For all you new mom’s here is a breakdown of the necessities that go in my diaper caddy. What’s great about this is you can take it with you down stairs (or up, your preference 😉 ), the car, the boat (if you have a boat we need to be friends), the baby closet, even your changing dresser if you need something to hoard your items into one spot for easy access.

THE GOODS

A Carrier

I admit it, I’m shallow, I didn’t want a plastic bin for cleaning supplies I want cute. This can be a basket, a bin, a bag, a box you name it – whatever suits your stylish mommy needs,

DiapersShocking! But seriously – there are so many different opinions and preferences on these guys. I use Pampers Swaddlers.

Diaper Wipes
THIS IS A THING. You say you won’t be picky and then you take a whiff of your baby butt and it smells like bizarre chemically treated poop. Then you realize your wipes stink, literally. I like Pampers wipes – the other ones just rub wipe me the wrong way. (I’m alone with a baby A LOT – excuse my terrible jokes. There is no cure)

Desitin
I am not a terrible mom but I am a new one. Don’t feel bad if sometimes you don’t notice when you put your baby down for a nap and s/he poops as you take a nap. You come back and Hello Diaper rash. Desitin isn’t really a necessity but it’s nice in case of emergency.

Changing Pad LinersI’m lazy. I don’t wanna wash covers all the time so I line them with things that I can swap out easily. There are SO many items you can use – disposable diapers, receiving blankets/swaddles, paper towels, kitchen towels (just remember which ones are for the kitchen) or changing pad liners. My favorite choices are linked in the item names.

Diaper Trash Bags
I use dog poop bags for these. They’re cheaper than the diaper bags they sell on-line for the same purpose just trying to reel in the new moms who don’t know how cheap they can get where to save money…YET!

Hand Sanitizer
If I need to explain this you have not been pee’d / pooped on enough. YOUR TIME WILL COME!

Extras

Blankets and Burp Cloths
I use disposable diapers for different purposes. For instance, burping. They are super absorbent and easy to bleach if it comes to that (It does). I also use them for under the tush when changing in strange places. Swaddles serve the same purpose or if he needs an extra blanket in the car seat, or a cover.

Change of Baby Clothes
Since the weather is heating up, this consists of a onesie and a baby bib. In the winter I will throw in socks and pants.

PacifiersPlease skip this section if you are a magical mom with super powers who just looks at their baby and the baby falls asleep. For the rest of us – I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Brown’s pacifiers. The nipples on the binkies are like the nipples on their bottles so it is a great transition when you are bottle feeding and use pacifiers.

Don’t ask me how to ween them off of pacifiers – we haven’t gotten to that stage yet 😉

Now obviously this is mostly just a day to day – sometimes I slip in the snot sucker (THANK GOD FOR THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THESE) or some powder but those things can easily be taken out, added or I can just run upstairs if need be 😉

That’s the gist of it! Leave me a comment and let me know what you have in your diaper caddy!